EROD activities in a primary cell culture of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) hepatocytes exposed to polychlorinated aromatic hydrocarbonas

Aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor (Ah-agonist) effects of environmental samples containing polychlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons were evaluated using a 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (FROD) assay of a primary hepatocyte culture from grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus). The results were compared with those obtained from the assay using the rat hepatoma cell line H4IIE and chemical analysis using high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). A dose-response relationship was observed between the EROD activities, either from primary hepatocyte culture assay or from H4IIE assay, and concentrations of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The results showed that the assay based on the H4IIE cell line (EC50 = 0.83 mug/mL) is more sensitive to TCDD than the assay based on primary hepatocyte Culture (EC50 = 9.7 pg/mL). In tests of environmental samples, the results from the assay using primary hepatocyte culture were comparable to those from the assay using the H4IIE cell line and chemical analysis of concentrations of mixtures of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran (PCDD/PCDF). The lack of a change in the activities of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in cell culture upon exposure to TCDD indirectly indicates that the compound is persistent to biodegradation in the cell culture system. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

STUDIES ON MIXED MASS CULTIVATION OF ANABAENA SPP (NITROGEN-FIXING BLUE-GREEN-ALGAE, CYANOBACTERIA) ON A LARGE-SCALE

Studies on mixed mass cultivation of Anabaena spp. on a large scale (5170 m2) were conducted continuously for 3 years. Under the continental monsoon climate in northern subtropics (30-degrees-N, 115-degrees-E), 7-11 g dry weight m-2 day-1 of microalgal biomass on average was harvested in simple plastic greenhouses in the effective growth days during the warmer seasons. The maximum productivity was 22 g m-2 day-1 in the middle of summer. Observations on the productive properties of strains of Anabaena spp. indicated that they were different from and could compensate for each other in their productivities and adaptations to the seasonal changes. With different lining materials (PVC sheets, concrete, sand and soil) in the culture ponds, no significant variation of productivity was found, but bubbling with biogas in the middle of the day and the application of some growth regulating substances (2,4-D, NaHSO3 and extracts of oyster mushroom spawn) was able to improve the production. The cost of microalgal biomass in this way was around 0.75-1.0 US dollar(s) per kilogram.

Capillary liquid chromatographic-high-resolution mass spectrometric analysis of ribonucleotides

A method of capillary HPLC-high-resolution MS was developed for the trace analysis of ATP, GTP, dATP and dGTP Dimethylhexylamine (DMHA) was used as ion-pairing agent for the HPLC retention and separation of the nucleotides and positive ion electrospray time-of-flight MS was used for the detection. The application of capillary HPLC allowed minimal usage of DMHA while providing excellent peak retention and resolution, which significantly reduced the ion suppression in electrospray ionization-MS analysis and thus increased the sensitivity. Adduct ions of nucleotides and DMHA were used as quantitative ions in order to achieve the best sensitivity. DMHA concentration at 5 mM in the aqueous mobile phase at pH 7 was found to be the optimal conditions for the C Is capillary column. The method was applied to determine ATP level in cultured C6 glioma cells that were treated with toxic concentrations of Zn. The results showed that the cellular ATP level decreased from 2.7 pmol/cell (<10% cell death) in average control cell samples to 0.36 pmol/cell as the concentration of Zn increased to 120 mg/l (>35% cell death) in culture medium.

Studies on mass summer mortality of cultured zhikong scallops (Chlamys farreri Jones et Preston) in China

Mass mortalities of cultured zhikong scallops (Chlamys farreri) have occurred each summer in most culture areas of northern China since 1996. Among the hypothesized causes are high culture density, infectious disease and genetic inbreeding. To investigate these potential agents, C. farreri were deployed at three densities (low, medium and high) at three sites (Jiaonan, Penglai and Yantai) in the summer of 2000. Scallops were sampled for survival, growth and histopathology before, during and after a mortality episode. Most of the mortality occurred in July and August, during and toward the later part of the spawning season, when water temperature reached 23-26 degrees C. Final cumulative mortalities reached 85% to 90% at all three sites. Scallops in the medium and high densities had higher initial death rates than did those at the low density. High densities also inhibited growth. Ciliates from the genus Trichodina, larvae of various organisms and anomalous secretions were observed in sections of the gill cavity, with highest prevalence during and at the end of the mortality period. Prokaryotic inclusion bodies were found in the soft tissues, but their prevalence was low and apparently without correlation with mortalities. Genetic analysis with random amplified polymorphic DNA markers showed slightly lower heterozygosity in the cultured stocks (0.301) than in the wild stocks (0.331). It is possible that the mortalities are caused by a combination of several factors such as stress associated with reproduction, high temperature, overcrowding and poor circulation in the growout cages, opportunistic invaders or pathogens, and possibly inbreeding. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Places making: participatory construction of scientifi c culture cities

In the framework of the European project Platform of Local Authorities and Communicators Engaged in Science (PLACES), we analyse the articulations between scientifi c communication, public perception of science, processes of citizen participation and apropiation of space, based on a case study of the inhabitants of Teruel city, Autonomous Community of Aragon, Spain. On the interrelationships between these issues, there are a number of contradictions, such as the difference between a high interest for information about science and technology and a low level of recognition and interaction with local institutions involved in those activities, the complex conceptualization of scientifi c space in relation to the “public-private” pair, or an articulation of a claiming civic rethoric and an insuffi cient co-responsibility. We conclude that, in a local context, the dimension of territoriality and, in particular, the identifi cation with the town, is a central mediation for activating citizen participation as part of processes of appropriation of space for setting up cities of scientifi c culture.

Cyborg Subjects: Discourses on Digital Culture

This book is an interrogation of humanity's new potentials and threats brought by technology when the question of social change is becoming more crucial than ever. Collected in the course of 2010-2012, the selected essays in this anthology confront questions from a wide-ranging perspective that evoke the postmodern idea of the cyborg to illuminate recent phenomena from global warming, Wikileaks, to the Occupy movements. Multiple disciplines from music to psychoanalysis to journalism to anthropology collaborate to examine the way we shape the world from behind our ubiquitous screens to taking to the streets in mass protests. What does the increasing omnipotence of networked machines ultimately mean? What do social networks do to our sense of self, others and society? Does P2P technology foster new ethics and spiritualities? What potentials does posthumanity have to bring about social change? Featuring essays from Robert Barry, Siri Driessen & Roos van Haaften, Bonni Rambatan, Dustin Cohen, Jacob Johanssen, Michel Bauwens, Aliki Tzatha, Zakary Paget, Stefen Baack, Alessandro Zagato, Peter Nikolaus Funke, Glenn Muschert, and Jung-Hua Liu.

Which anatomical sites should be sampled for screening of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage by culture or by rapid PCR test?

The nose is the anatomical site usually recommended for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) screening. Other sites are also recommended, but are more controversial. We showed that the sensitivities of MRSA detection from nasal swabs alone were 48% and 62% by culture or by rapid PCR test, respectively. These percentages increased to 79% and 92% with the addition of groin swabs, and to 96% and 99% with the addition of groin and throat swabs. In conclusion, neither by culture nor by rapid PCR test is nose sampling alone sufficient for MRSA detection. Additional anatomical sites should include at least the groin and throat.

Interactions of diploid embryonal carcinoma cells and normal cell mass cells with 2.5 day mouse embryos following aggregation

Spontaneous teratocarcinomas are ovarian or testicular tumors which have their origins in germ cells. The tumors contain a disorganized array of benign differentiated cells as well as an undifferentiated population of malignant stem cells, the embryonal carcinoma or EC cells. These pluripotent stem cells in tissue culture share many properties with the transient pluripotent cells of the early embryo, and might therefore serve as models for the investigation of developmental events ill vitro. The property of EC cells of prime interest in this study is an in vivo phenomenon. Certain EC cell lines are known to be regulated ill vivo and to differentiate normally in association with normal embryonic cells, resulting in chimeric mice. These mice have two genetically distinct cell populations, one of which is derived from the originally malignant EC cells. This has usually been accomplished by injection of the EC cells into the Day 3 blastocyst. In this study, the interactions between earlier stage embryos and EC cells have been tested by aggregating clumps of EC cells with Day 2 embryos. The few previous aggregation studies produced a high degree of abnormality in chimeric embryos, but the EC cells employed had known chromosomal abnormalities. In this study, two diploid EC cell lines (P19 and Pi0) were aggregated with 2.5 day mouse embryos, and were found to behave quite differently in the embryonic environment. P19 containing aggregates generally resorbed early, and the few embryos recovered at midgestation were normal and non-chimeric. Pi0 containing aggregates survived in high numbers to midgestation, and the Pi0 cells were very successful in colonizing the embryo. All these embryos were chimeric, and the contribution by the EC cells to each chimera was very high. However, these heavily chimeric embryos were all abnormal. Blastocyst injection had previously produced some abnormal embryos with high Pl0 contributions in addition to the live born mice, which had lower EC contributions. This study now adds more support to the hypothesis that high EC contributions may be incompatible with normal development. The possibility that the abnormalities were due to the mixing of temporally asynchronous embryonic cell types in the aggregates was tested by aggregating normal pluripotent cells taken from 3.5 day embryos with 2.5 day embryos. Early embryo loss was very high, and histological studies showed that the majority of these embryos died by 6.5 days development. Some embryos escaped this early death such that some healthy chimeras were recovered, in contrast to recovery of abnormal chimeric embryos following Pl0-morula aggregations, and non-chimeric embryos following P19-morula aggregations. This somewhat surprising adverse effect on development following aggregation of normal cell types suggests that there are developmental difficulties associated with the mixing of asynchronous cell types in aggregates. However, the greater magnitude of the adverse effects when the aggregates contained tumor derived cells suggests that EC cells should not be considered the complete equivalent of the pluripotent cells of the early embryo.

La culture extrême, une approche à la co-construction de la culture organisationnelle

Ce mémoire propose de conceptualiser la culture organisationnelle d’un angle nouveau. Mary Jo Hatch (1993), dans son modèle de Cultural Dynamics, soutient que la culture d’une entreprise favorise la modulation de l’identité des individus y travaillant. Partant de cette affirmation, je me questionne à savoir si l’inverse est aussi possible. La culture de l’organisation et l’identité des individus y travaillant peuvent-ils évoluer dans une dynamique de co-construction? Afin d’étudier ce phénomène, j’ai mené une série d’entrevues selon la méthode du récit de vie au sein d’Empire Sports, une chaîne québécoise de boutiques de vente au détail d’articles de sports extrêmes. En me basant sur la théorie des communautés de pratiques, j’ai analysé et interprété les résultats obtenus lors des entrevues. J’arrive à identifier et à préciser ce phénomène de co-construction que j’interprète à l’aide d’un nouveau concept appelé la culture extrême. Comme cette recherche est exploratoire, les conclusions ouvrent la possibilité d’approfondir davantage les connaissances à propos de la culture extrême en l’examinant dans d’autres contextes organisationnels.

Temps, culture et communication : pour une critique de la statistique culturelle

Comment fonder théoriquement des indicateurs culturels? Issue de problèmes méthodologiques reliés à l’étude des rapports entre le temps de travail et le temps libre, cette question émerge à la suite du constat du déficit théorique de la statistique culturelle. En effet, l’étude du temps libre, comme du temps de travail, nécessite de questionner les fondements de cette répartition, en même temps qu’elle exige d’analyser concrètement les pratiques sociales reliées à ces catégories. Or, les ana-lyses sur l’emploi du temps libre sont souvent fondées sur des statistiques à propos des activités culturelles, statistiques dont la portée explicative est singulièrement limitée. Bien que des statistiques sur certaines de ces activités existent au moins depuis le début du XXe siècle, c’est à partir des années 1970 que les besoins de connaissance reliés à la mise en œuvre des politiques culturelles stimulent la production de statistiques plus nombreuses et plus détaillées. Afin de donner des significations à cette masse de statistiques, il est nécessaire de délimiter les frontières de ce qui est culture et communication parmi toutes les autres activités sociales. L’élaboration de cadres conceptuels de la culture par l’UNESCO et d’autres agences statistiques tente de répondre à cette exigence, tandis que les projets d’indicateurs avancés cherchent à donner un sens à l’information statistique. Ces tentatives se caractérisent toutefois par la faiblesse de leur assise théorique, problème qui se manifeste de manière aiguë dans la définition d’indicateurs qui ont nécessairement une portée normative. La résolution de cette impasse de la statistique culturelle passe au moins par une clarification des concepts reliés à la notion de culture. À cette fin, la méthodologie de la recherche repose sur une analyse critique de certains documents fondamentaux qui ont conduit à la création du cadre conceptuel pour la statistique culturelle de l’UNESCO, ainsi que sur des textes phares de Fernand Dumont, Pierre Bourdieu et Jürgen Habermas, choisis pour leur capacité à penser les activités culturelles dans l’ensemble social selon leur temporalité. La notion de temporalité est elle-même examinée sous l’angle de plusieurs approches théoriques. Il ressort de cet examen que la différenciation du temps en temps abstrait et temps concret permet d’entrevoir que les pratiques culturelles pourraient être mesurées non seulement selon la quantité de temps social qui leur est dévolue, mais aussi comme un temps qui a une valeur marchande. Les acquis de l’analyse critique des cadres conceptuels de la statistique culturelle et des textes de Dumont, Bourdieu et Habermas servent de points d’appui pour l’élaboration d’un projet d’indicateurs culturels pour le compte de l’Observatoire de la culture et des communications du Québec (OCCQ). Ce système d’indicateurs a été élaboré selon une grille qui définit ce qu’est un indicateur culturel, son objectif et sa signification. Les indicateurs ont été choisis au cours d’un processus de consultation mené par l’OCCQ auprès des agents gouvernementaux concernés et des représentants des associations professionnelles des secteurs de la culture et des communications du Québec.

Which Legal Standards Should Apply To Web-logs? The present legal position of Internet journals in the European iuris prudence in the light of the European Parliament Committee’s on Culture and Education report and Polish Supreme Court decision

The article discusses the present status of weblogs and examines whether legal standards applicable to traditional press and media should be applied to that specific forum. The analysis is based on two key documents: the Draft Report on the concentration and pluralism in the media in European Union (2007/2253(INI)) of the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education presented in March 2008 and a landmark decision of the Polish Supreme Court from July 26, 2007 (IV KK 174/07) in the light of present judicial tendency in other European countries. The first of the mentioned documents calls for the “clarification of the legal status of different categories of weblog authors and publishers as well as disclosure of interests and voluntary labelling of weblogs”. It emphasizes that the “undetermined and unindicated status of authors and publishers of weblogs causes uncertainties regarding impartiality, reliability, source protection, applicability of ethical codes and the assignment of liability in the event of lawsuits”. The position of the European Parliament, expressed in the document, raises serious questions on the limits of freedom of thought and speech on the Internet and on the degree of acceptable state control. A recent Polish Supreme Court decision, which caused quite a stir in the Polish Internet community, seems to head in the very direction recommended by the EP Culture Committee. In a case of two editors of a web journal (“czasopismo internetowe”) called “Szyciepoprzemysku”, available on-line, accused of publishing a journal without the proper registration, the Polish Supreme Court stated that “journals and periodicals do not lose the character of a press release due solely to the fact that they appear in the form of an  Internet transmission”, and that ‘’the publishing of press in an electronic form, available on the Internet, requires  registration”. The decision was most surprising, as prior lower courts decisions declined the possibility to register Internet periodicals. The accused were acquitted in the name of the constitutional principle of the rule of law (art. 7 of the Polish Constitution) and the ensuing obligation to protect the trust of a citizen to the state (a conviction in this case would break the collateral estoppel rule), however the decision quickly awoke media frenzy and raised the fear of a need to register all websites that were regularly updated. The spokesman of the Polish Supreme Court later explained that the sentence of the Court was not intended to cause a mass registration of all Internet “periodicals” and that neither weblogs nor Internet sites, that were regularly updated, needed registration. Such an interpretation of the Polish press law did not appear clear based only on the original text of the judgment and the decision as such still raises serious practical questions. The article aims to examine the status of Internet logs as press and seeks the compromise between the concerns expressed by European authorities and the freedom of thought and speech exercised on the Internet.

Interaction entre le virus SRRP et Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae dans un modèle d'infection en culture cellulaire

Le virus du syndrome reproducteur et respiratoire porcin (VSRRP) est un pathogène d’importance dans l’industrie porcine et est responsable d’importantes pertes économiques. Il n’existe pas d’antiviral efficace contre celui-ci. Il a récemment été mis en évidence que le surnageant de culture d’Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, l’agent étiologique de la pleuropneumonie porcine, possédait une activité antivirale in vitro contre le VSRRP dans la lignée cellulaire SJPL. Les objectifs de mon projet sont (i) d’étudier les mécanismes cellulaires menant à l’activité antivirale causée par le surnageant de culture d’A. pleuropneumoniae, et (ii) de caractériser les molécules actives présentes dans le surnageant de culture d’A. pleuropneumoniae. Dans un premier temps, des analyses de protéome ont été effectuées et ont permis d’observer que le surnageant de culture modulait la régulation du cycle cellulaire. Dans le but d’analyser le cycle cellulaire des cellules SJPL, la cytométrie en flux a été utilisée et a permis de démontrer que le surnageant de culture induisait un arrêt du cycle cellulaire en phase G2/M. Deux inhibiteurs de la phase G2/M ont alors été utilisé. Il s'est avéré que ces inhibiteurs avaient la capacité d’inhiber le VSRRP dans les cellules SJPL. Enfin, la spectrométrie de masse a été utilisée dans le but de caractériser les molécules actives présentes dans le surnageant de culture d’A. pleuropneumoniae et d’identifier deux molécules. Ce projet a permis de démontrer pour la première fois qu’A. pleuropneumoniae est capable de perturber le cycle cellulaire et que ce dernier était un élément important dans l’effet antiviral contre le VSRRP.

La culture d’entreprise : une comparaison de deux compagnies d’assurances à partir d’une approche interactionnelle.

Ce mémoire se veut une étude comparative de deux compagnies d'assurances à partir d’une approche interactionnelle. L'analyse de la vie organisationnelle au sein de ces deux compagnies d'assurances m'a permis de montrer que les discours sur les valeurs culturelles contenues dans les publications de ces compagnies d'assurances étaient souvent en contradiction avec les actions, les discours et les pratiques que les dirigeants mettent de l’avant au quotidien. Ces divergences résultent du fait que les dirigeants semblent construire leurs organisations sur des modes de fonctionnement, des processus et des critères de gestion d'entreprise propres aux compagnies axées sur le seul profit économique. Comme j’essaye de le montrer dans ce mémoire, les valeurs qui sont cultivées dans une organisation sont pourtant aussi importantes pour assurer le bon fonctionnement d’une compagnie que les produits et services que les compagnies d’assurances proposent à leurs clients.